It's full-speed ahead for a Sunday start to NHL training camps and Jan. 19 start to the 2013 schedule.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Canadian Press on Tuesday that he expects camps to open on Jan. 13, seven days after the new CBA was tentatively agreed upon in New York. The deal has yet to be ratified by either side, with majority votes needed by both the owners on Wednesday and NHLPA later in the week.

The union's decision to wait a bit to ratify is allowing players to get some pre-camp workouts in and, in some cases, take their time returning from their European teams. It also has effectively put the clamps on any possibility, however small, that a 50-game season could start on Jan. 15. Instead, a six-day camp and 48 games starting on Jan. 19 is all but official.

"The main focus here is definitely to get the legs going, but also our system," Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier said Monday. "Mentally, be sharp on the ice and making the right decision on where to go and what to do. Those are going to be things that, usually would take 3-4 weeks, and we have a week to do it."

Lightning coach Guy Boucher said he was prepared for three-, five-, seven and 10-day camps, and that while there were ways to accelerate the process, some learning on the fly was unavoidable.

"It takes a long, long time, and right now if you get four or five days, it's impossible that we're able to put everything the way you want it," Boucher said, adding that roster size and decisions would be contingent on how long camp lasts, and that a 48-game schedule was legitimate because, despite extra urgency on each game, it still leaves time for ups, downs and injuries.

"Football's a tough sport, but it ain't a tougher sport than hockey, really. And there's only 16 games," Boucher said.

In some cases, the teams aren't bothering to wait for the league to announce their home opener date.